Section I

Introduction

Don’t let the length of this booklet scare you; you do not need to read all of it before you go out. If this is your first kite, I recommend you read up through the First Flight section. You should also skim the Wind window, Tuning, and Problems sections before you go out. Also, check the wind range of your kite in the mini-catalog (flying your kite over the recommended range could damage it). As your skills improve, you will find the later sections of this booklet helpful in performing all the latest tricks. Why the booklet? Well, as a kite flyer in the Bay Area, I got the opportunity to meet many new fliers. I have also had the opportunity to meet and fly with some of the best fliers in the world. I do not expect everyone else to have this opportunity. Having talked to many people who own a stunt kite but don’t fly it anymore, I have found that they get bored with it. Since Sky Vision Kites specializes in high-performance kites, I thought it would be nice to take some time to show you a little bit of what your kite is capable of doing. Learning some of the moves in this booklet can be quite frustrating. Stick with it, and you will find that flying a stunt kite can be very fun and exciting. I strongly recommend that you read the section on safety first, as a stunt kite can move very fast and cause serious injury if it hits a person. Fly safe and have fun.

Safety and Wind Speed Table

Safety

Here is a small list of safety points to help make your kite flying fun and safe. Please read and understand this manual before you attempt to fly your new kite.

• Never fly in wet or stormy weather.
• Never fly near power lines, and do not try to free a kite caught in a power line — call the power company.
• Never use metallic flying line.
• Do not fly near trees, streets, or airports.
• Fly on a field free of pot holes & debris.
• Do not allow your kite or line to touch any bystander.
• Be particularly careful with stunt kites. Make sure your flying area is clear, and never fly over spectators.
• Never allow a small child to fly a kite unsupervised.

Suitable Places to Fly

You need to find an area that is about the size of a baseball field (infield) and is fairly flat with little to no hills or trees downwind. Make sure there are no power lines, trees, benches, bushes, garbage cans, light poles, or any other obstacles that you may hit or tangle your kite or lines in, on, through, or around. DO NOT FLY OVER PEOPLE! DO NOT CHASE PEOPLE WITH THE KITE! Stunt kites are dangerous, and if the kite or lines hit people, it can cause serious injury! If you must fly downwind of a set of trees or buildings, you can expect to experience turbulence. Wind shadow effects an area of seven times the height of an object downwind.

If you must fly in a small park and have to set your kite up close to a series of objects, you should set your kite up about 20 feet away from the objects. When you return to your handles, place a personal item near them (lunch box, kite bag, hat, etc.) When flying, never move in front of the item you have placed at your handles. The item you placed will help to orient you away from the obstructive objects.

Never fly with your back near a cliff, ditch, pond, lake, etc. When flying always be aware of what is behind you as you may need to back up.

Wind Speed

This table will help you estimate when the best time is to fly your kite. All Sky Vision Kites have a recommended wind rating; it requires more experience to fly a kite at the low and high ends of its recommended wind range. So, before you set your kite up make sure that the current wind conditions fall in the middle of the wind rating (generally 6-12mph). If there is not enough wind, the kite will not stay in the air. If you attempt to fly in higher wind speeds than the kite is rated for, it can break.

Anatomy of a Stunt Kite

What things are called

Sail	Rods are used to hold the kite in shape.
Frame	The rods (typically Graphite or Fiberglass) are attached to the sail to help it maintain its shape. Also called rods.
Nose	The front of the kite, the kite fly’s in the direction of the nose.
Spreaders	Rods used to hold the kite in shape.
Leading Edge	These rods define the front of the wing.
Fittings	The rods fit into the fittings, to form a ridged support structure.
Nock	Sometimes called Whisker. The small rods help keep the sail in shape and make it easier to self-launch it. They also help the kite to perform a variety of tricks, since they prevent the sail from collapsing.
Spine	Also called the static line, this is the non-adjustable line. Typically, it runs from the lower spreader to the Bridle clips.
Tee	Connect the lower spreaders to the spine.
Stand Off	Sometimes called Whisker. The small rods help keep the sail in shape and make it easier to self-launch it. They also help the kite to perform many of the tricks since they prevent the sail from collapsing.
Bridle	The kite line connects to the bridle. The bridle is used to maintain the correct angle, so that the kite can fly. You can adjust the bridle to allow the kite to fly in a wider wind range. Typically consisting of two or more lines per side of the kite, forming a pyramid.
Out-haul	Small metal clips to hook the fly line onto the bridle. Sometimes they can be small loops of string. These can be metal or string. The flying line should be hooked on with a larks head knot. For metal, this would be slipped inside the clip. For string, the knot should be placed behind the knot on the end of the bridle line, before the end knot. Either way the line should be pulled tight
Main Line	Also called the dynamic line sometimes, usually the clip is attached to this line.
Clips	Small metal clips to hook the fly line onto the bridle. Sometimes they can be small loops of string. These can be metal or string. The flying line should be hooked on with a larks head knot. For metal, this would be slipped inside the clip. For string, the knot should be placed behind the knot on the end of the bridle line, before the end knot. Either way, the line should be pulled tight
Pick Point	This is a mark placed on the main bridle line. Moving the clips so that they are right over the marks will set the bridle so that the kite will fly. This also acts as a reference point for adjusting the bridle.
Bridle Marks	The setting of the bridle is where the kite performs best. This spot will vary slightly from flier to flier, and as the wind varies. But for most Sky Vision Kites kites, you will find that you will not have to adjust the bridles unless you are flying Pairs, or near either extreme in the wind range.
Sweet Spot	The setting of the bridle is where the kite performs best. This spot will vary slightly from flier to flier, and as the wind varies. But for most Sky Vision Kites kites, you will find that you will not have to adjust the bridles unless you are flying Pairs, or near either extreme in the wind range.

Leach Line

The Free Spirit II, Magic, and Expression come with a leach line sewn into the trailing edge.
When you assemble the kite, slip the loop onto the nock to tension the sail. Do not adjust its position until the kite is fully assembled. It should be loose. Next, assemble the kite as normal (see section on Setup). After the kite is assembled, check the tension to verify that it is not too tight or loose. You should have trouble pushing the sail, but it should not bow the leading edge in. When you fly your kite, the kite should be quiet (except for Expression, which makes a quiet buzzing when flying). To adjust the tension, take the tension line coming out of the sail and pull the loop straight. You may find it easier if you remove the standoff while adjusting. Grab the line on each side of the loop and pull. Then take your finger and slide the loop either toward the sail to increase tension or away to lower tension. After you finish, put the tension line together and pull. You will need to pull on both the tension loop and the tension line to lock it.

Unpacking

All Sky Vision Kites (except the Ember) are shipped with the leading edge and spine broken apart. If you do not plan on flying your kite for several weeks, you may wish to unhook the nocks at the end of the wings. This will increase the life of the sail.

First, open the kite up and lay it on the ground. Then untangle the bridle lines. Next, find the shortest rod; this is the bottom of the spine (the Flash Point does not have a two-piece spine). Insert this rod into the pocket at the end of the center of the kite; it will slip into the coupling (ferrule) at the end of the main spine rod. Now make sure that the top of the spine is in the pocket at the top of the kite. Slip the nock onto the exposed end of the spine, then hook the elastic cord into the notch in the nock.

Now you need to hook the leading edges together. Straighten out the leading edge and grab the loose rod. The Flash Point has no connector on the bottom of the leading edge, so the rod may have slipped out in shipping. If you have a Flash Point, you will find 3 rods of about the same length, two are the lower leading edges, and one is the upper spreader. On our other kites, the upper spreader is the second shortest rod (the bottom of the spine being the shortest), and the lower leading edges will have stoppers on them. Slide the loose end of the rod into the ferrule inside the leading edge (make sure you are inside the ferrule and not slipping past it). After the rod is in the ferrule, hook the nock and elastic cord into the end of the rod. It may be very tight, you can use a pen or pencil or a rubber band to help, be careful you do not puncture the sail. If there is a stopper near the upper and lower spreader connectors, slide the connectors down to seat on top of the stoppers. Repeat for the other side. If your kite has leach lines (a line coming out the end of the sail), see the section on Leach Lines for adjusting.

To break the kite down for storage or shipping, unhook the nocks on the leading edge, and slide the lower leading edge down until it is free of the ferrule. Next, remove the spine nock (if shipping, also remove the short spine rod). When you roll the kite to place it in the bag, fold the lower leading edge son the back of the sail. Then roll the sail toward the Tee, making sure that the stand-offs don’t puncture the sail. Next, put all rods with the sail and insert them into the bag (don’t put the rods in first, they might tear the sail). Always roll your sail, don’t crumple it, that will decrease the life of the kite. When you roll it, it will stay looking like new longer.

Kite String (aka Lines)

Stunt kites are flown on two lines of equal length. Since the kites are very maneuverable, you want to have lines with very low stretch. The more stretch, the less responsive the kite is (you have to pull out the stretch before the kite sees your control inputs). You also do not need to let out lots of line. There are currently several different types of lines available for flying dual-line kites with:

A note on line lengths: first, regardless of the length of the line, the kite always moves at the same speed, so using longer lines makes the kite appear to move more slowly. The longer the lines, the longer it takes the kite to react to your hand motions. Also, long lines require more wind to fly with, more weight to lift, and have more drag. Ideally, you want the lines to go straight to the kite with no bow in them. Many fliers will switch lines as the wind speed increases or decreases. The other downside of longer lines is that they take up more space on the field. The best line lengths seem to be between 90 feet and 150 feet. Larger kites tend to be better on slightly longer lines. Also, longer lines make it easier to pair fly. For beginners, I recommend about 100 feet. For individual trick flying, you may want to fly between 80 and 90 feet. For pairs and team flying the shortest line length should be around 125 feet, with about 5 foot difference in line lengths between each kite.

Lastly, you need to have something to hold onto the line with. You can use handles or straps. There as several types of handles, some are hard plastic and others have foam padding. Handles have some advantages over straps, one is that it is easier to hand handles to someone than to hand straps. If you do not have padded handles, you will find it very tiring holding on to a hard-pulling kite for any length of time. Straps allow you to take more pull and to have better control of the kite. For a small kite, finger straps are very comfortable to fly with for long periods of time. With wrist straps, you have to be careful not to place them around your wrist, but place the strap over the back of your hand. If you place it around your wrist, you could get carpel tunnel syndrome from the pressure of the kite trying to crush your wrist. For really large or hard pulling stacks, you should use dead man release handles. These are handles that, when you let go, disconnect the line. At the very least you should use padded handles, that way if something goes wrong, or you can’t take the pull you can just let go.

Setup

All Sky Vision Kites disassemble for easier storage.

1. Lay your fly-line out on the ground, being sure to secure the end attached to the handles to the ground with a screwdriver or kite anchor. (At the beach, handles can be buried in the sand.)
2. Make sure the line is free of all knots and tangles. (Beginners may also want to remove all twists.)
3. Remove all parts from the bag, and lay them out on the ground.
4. Place the bag in a safe place so it will not blow away.
5. Check the sail for any holes or tears. Do not attempt to fly the kite with a hole, it will only get bigger. Small holes can be repaired or patched.
6. Check that all the rods are there and none are bent or broken.
7. Untangle the bridle and lay the sail face up on the ground so you are looking at the front. Face the nose of the kite into the wind.
8. Put the upper spreader into the leading edge connectors.
9. Put the lower spreaders into the leading edge connectors and then into the T-connector. The ends of the rods with the stops are placed into the T.
10. Insert stand-offs into connectors on lower spreaders.
11. Make sure that the bridle is not wrapped around any spreaders. The line should be looped cleanly over the fittings. Make sure that all bridles are wrapped around the fittings the same way.
12. Make sure that the bridle is either wrapped around or below the spine stopper (it does not want to be between the Tee and the Stopper).
13. Attach the fly lines to either the clip or the end of the string loop using a Lark’s Head Knot (See the section on knots). With the clips, form the Lark’s Head knot and squeeze the clips together, then slip the knot over one end of the clip. Make sure that the knot is fully inside the clip; otherwise, it will deform the clip. Pull the knot tight.
14. Verify that your bridles are set even (see section on Tuning).
15. Lay the kite back at a 45-degree angle so that the nose is away from the wind and there is a little bit of tension on the fly-lines. Make sure the bridle and fly-lines are not tangled around any part of the kite. You are now ready to fly your kite.
16. Reverse these steps to take the kite apart, grab all of the rods in your hand (folding the wings into the spine), and roll the sail up to the spine (use care when rolling the kite). Place the extra rods near the spine and insert everything into the bag. Note: Inserting the rods after the kite is in the bag can result in puncturing the sail.

First Flight

Before you fly

If you are new to stunt kite flying (i.e., this is your first time) make sure you have sufficient wind for the kite you are flying. Typically, 8-12 mph is best for beginners. Too much wind is not always a good thing when you are learning. The more wind, the faster the kite will move and the harder the kite will pull. Make sure the bridles are set on the bridle marks (See section on Tuning), and not wrapped or twisted. The bridles should be overhand looped around the fittings, and should all be wrapped the same way around the rods. Always remember to keep your arms at your side, your elbow stuck in, and your hands fairly close together. You don’t need to wave your arms around; it doesn’t help the kite any, and it looks silly. Waving your arms around makes control more difficult and gets you tired faster. Stay relaxed, remember this is supposed to be fun! For your first flight, you may want to bring a partner or helper. If you have a helper, have them pick up the kite and hold it by the lower spine. Pick up the handles and gently pull on each handle to make sure that the right handle is attached to the right side of the kite and the left handle is attached to the left side of the kite. You want to do the following steps each time you take off:

1. Check the area under where the kite will be flying for possible hazards, mainly people.
2. Look behind you to make sure you have a clear path if you need to back up.
3. Make sure your kite lines have equal tension so your kite will launch straight.
4. If there are other fliers around, check to make sure that your flying area is free of other kites. When all is clear, let others know that you are coming up.

Have your helper gently push the kite up into the air on your signal. If you don’t have a helper, be very careful when you pick up the handles, not to let the kite fall forward. You can lean the kite almost on its back if you need to, to avoid having it fall forward. With kite lines held out in front of you, give a sharp, even tug with both hands simultaneously and take a step back. Your kite should now be airborne.

If you are a first-time flier, do not be surprised if your first flight lasts only a few seconds, with those few seconds consisting of taking off and then nose-diving into the ground. This is where your helper can be very handy to pick the kite up so you can try again. If you are a new flier with no helper, prepare to do a lot of walking to retrieve and reset your kite for take-off. Do not despair, as this stage does not last long, and you will learn how to launch your kite from various positions as you gain experience. After you crash your kite, it is best to check and make sure everything is back in place. Don’t tape or glue the spreaders in place; if the kite isn’t able to fall apart, something will have to break. The Flash Point will tend to fall apart easily; this is not a design problem. It saves the kite from breaking. It is much better to spend 30 seconds putting a kite back together than to have to go home and order a new rod!

Basic Moves

Your stunt kite wants to fly in a forward motion, As far as the kite is concerned down is as good a forward motion as up. If you pull on the right handle, the kite will turn to the right. If you pull on the left handle, the kite will turn to the left.

When you launch the kit,e allow it to go straight up. It will come to rest in the sky almost directly over your head. This is referred to as the top of the wind window. The kite will remain fairly stationary here for as long as the wind blows, but it is pretty boring. This is also a good position to get to if someone walks in front of you; you can hold the kite up above you for hours with very little effort.

From launch, take the kite to the top of the wind window. Give a gentle tug to the right handle (Pull your hand back towards you about 6 inches) and the kite should make a nice circle. When the kite is again pointing straight up, move your right hand back to its starting position. (Congratulations, you have completed your first maneuver.) You will now notice that your lines are crossed over each other. This does not bother the kite one bit since the right handle is still connected to the right side of the kite and the left handle to the left side of the kite. You can have up to 30 or more twists(with Spectra lines) in your lines before you start to have control problems. Anyway, let’s remove the twists for now. Pull back with your left hand as you did with the right, and the kite will loop to the left. Your lines should now be uncrossed.

Practice doing right and left loops while pulling your hands back at different distances. The farther you pull back, the tighter the loop will be. See how big and how small of a loop you can make. When you are good at doing this, instead of pulling back when the kite is straight up, pull back a little sooner, and you can begin doing figure eights with a gentle, alternating left-right movement. Practice the figure eights up high at first and gradually lower them until you are flying in the middle directly in front of you. You will notice that as you approach the far right or left side of your flying area, the kite will slow down. These left and right outer edges are the edges of your wind window.

Basic Landing

From the top of the window, point your kite down at a 45-degree angle to one side. Fly your kite towards the edge of the window. As your kite approaches the edge, it will slow down. You can further help this slowing down by walking or running towards your kite, to a point behind where the kite is. When the kite is a few feet off the ground (less than 2 feet) walk directly towards the kite, and it should just naturally, slowly, maybe even gracefully land on the ground.

Unplanned landings, or crashes, will occur frequently as you begin or learn new moves. To minimize damage to the kite, step or run towards the kite just before it hits the ground. Do not pull back on the lines as this will accelerate the kite, increasing the force with which it hits the ground and probably increasing any damage to the kite.

If one handle comes out of your hand while flying, the kite will go into a very tight spin. Do not let go of the second handle! Instead, walk or run towards the kite, and this will slow the spinning down, causing the kite to lower to the ground. Untangle your lines fully before attempting to fly again.

Pickup

When you are done flying, anchor your handles down and go to your kite. Unhook lines from the bridle.

1. Remove standoffs from lower spreaders.
2. Remove the lower spreaders from T then pull out of connectors. If they are tight, grab the rods and twist while pulling.
3. Remove the upper spreader.
4. Fold leading edges into the spine and make sure sail billows below.
5. Grab your spreaders, leading edges, and spine in one hand and the bottom of the folded sail in the other hand and roll sail towards the spine. Make sure nothing is covering the T-fitting.
6. Insert rods and sail into the bag at the same time, while making sure the sail is free of any fittings so as not to cause tears.
7. Neatly wrap your lines around the winder. (Can either use an overhand or a figure eight wrap).

Tuning

Wind Window

As you fly your kite around, you will notice areas where your kite starts to slow down. Like straight above you, and as you fly to each side of you. This is the wind window; the center of the window is directly downwind. In the drawing below, your kite is flying on a sphere with you at the center. As your kite gets near the edge of the window, it will slow down. When you start off, you want to keep your kite away from the edge, but as you learn to handle your kite better, you will find the edge a great place to play and do all kinds of neat tricks. The arrows in the picture show the direction of the wind.

The size of your wind window will increase as the wind speed increases. In light winds, you will have almost no wind window. To start exploring the edge of the wind window, fly the kite out to either edge until it comes to a stop. Practice holding the kite in a stationary hover at the edge. You will need to offset your hands just a little (about 1″) to hold the kite in the edge. See how far out you can fly before the kite starts to fall.

When you are ready to head back into the center, turn the kite up (pull right for the left side, and left for the right side). If the kite seems to stall when turning up, pull back on both lines (one harder than the other), and/or take a step backwards. If you take a step back, remember to take a step forward when the kite is moving, otherwise you will end up walking off the field. Now practice flying straight lines across the wind window. See how straight you can fly.

Now take the kite to the edge of the window and hold it there. Next, try to turn the kite down instead of up. What happened? The kite didn’t turn very well, did it? What happened was that the kite had no forward momentum. When you pulled to turn it down, it accelerated, and gravity pulled it down. What you need to do is push the opposite hand forward (left for the right-hand side). This will slow the turn of the kite. You have just done a push turn. Learn how to do this type of turn, when you learn to push all of your turns, you will find you have more control of how the kite handles. More on this later.

Adjusting The Bridles

When your kite does not turn right, or is too slow or fast, it is time to tune your kite. Before you start to tune your kite, make sure that your fly lines are the exact same length (within 1/4″ is ok). If the lengths are the same, and you are still having problems, it is time to tune your kite (sometimes the bridle lines will slip). To tune your kite, you will need to adjust the position of the clips on the bridle.

When you look at the bridles, you will find that they are two lines connected together. One goes from the Tee connector through the clip and then to the upper spreader; this is the main line or static line. The other goes just from the Lower Spreader to the clip, this is the out-haul. Generally, you don’t adjust the out-haul. You will find that there is also a mark on the main bridle line. This mark is the point where the kite will fly the best (sweet spot).

As the wind speed decreases, you will find that the kite slows down. If you still wish to fl,y you can move the clips forward (toward the nose) a little bit. Adjust them in 1/4″ increments. You can do this by pulling on the line that is looped over the clip to loosen it. Slide the line, and pull the clip to tighten it. Make sure that both clips are the same distance from the nose. The easiest way I have found to do this is to pull the clip over to the lower spreader and the leading edge. And make sure that the distance between the clip and the lower spreader is the same on both sides.

As the wind speed increases, you may find the kite flies too fast. You can slow the kite down by moving the bridle clips down (away from the nose). This also makes some of the trick moves easier to learn. When the bridle is set too low, the kite will not take off (or just hover a few feet off the ground). If the bridle is set too high, the kite will take off and fall out of the sky. As you move the bridle clips lower, you will increase the pull of the kite.

One counterintuitive thing, for very high winds, set the bridle clips high like you would for very low wind. This will dump wind off the sail and keep the kite from collapsing. If you have to adjust the bridles this high, you may want to put the kite away. Remember, the higher the bridle clips, the faster the kite will fly. Also, the faster the kite hits the ground, the more damage that can be done. You can also install a air brake.

Problems

Here is a list of common problems you may encounter when flying your kite. Also is a list of possible sources or things to check out.

• Kite won’t take off or flies sluggishly:
  1. You may not have enough wind.
  2. You may have adjusted your bridles too low. If you feel there is enough wind, check and make sure the bridles are set near the marks.
  3. Try reading the section on the first flight. You may also want to glance through the section on light wind flying.
• Kite keeps turning in one direction:
  1. Make sure you have the correct handle in the correct hand.
  2. Make sure your bridles are set to the same distance to the nose (1/4″ is too much difference).
  3. Make sure your lines are within 1/4″ in length (although you probably will only be able to notice if they are more than about 1″ off).
• Kite climbs and then falls out of the sky:
  1. Make sure you have enough wind.
  2. Make sure your bridles are set correctly for the wind conditions. If the bridles are set too high, the kite will accelerate up and die about halfway up.
  3. If the kite falls out of the sky during a turn, you may be overcontrolling the kite. All Sky Vision Kites stunt kites are set to respond to minute hand movements. Also, try not to jerk your hands around; this can stall the kite. Remember smooth motions.
• Kite does not turn the same in each direction:
  1. Check your bridle settings; they must be within 1/4″ of each other.
  2. Make sure your fly lines are the same length.
• Kite shudders during flight:
  1. Check to see if any large objects behind you could be providing turbulence.
  2. If the frame is bowing back, you are flying the kite in too high a wind speed. Advance the bridles, add a wind tamer, or switch to a high wind kite.
  3. Sometimes this is just the wind. I have noticed that sometimes when storms move through that the wind can get very choppy.
• Hole in sail:
  1. Stop flying immediately! Continued flying will make the hole grow bigger. If you can apply the ripstop nylon repair tape. You can also contact us for an estimate of applying a patch.
• Rods fall out:
  1. First off, if you are a new flier, this may be good. While inconvenient, it saves the kite from breaking!
  2. You can order new fittings from us.
  3. You can use electrical tape. Just wrap a few turns around each spreader at the connectors. I highly recommend this if you are going into a competition.

Section II

Advanced and Trick Flying

Precision Flying

A stunt kite is capable of very precise control. Here is a collection of figures you can practice doing.

Remember when you did a turn under near the edge of the wind window, you had to “push” the turn instead of pulling. If you have been practicing the above figures with pull turns, go back and try them with push turns. You will find you have better control. When you pull turn a kite, you are accelerating one wing around the other. When you push turn a kite, you are slowing one wing down and allowing the other wing to pivot around the slower wing. If you punch the turn real quick, “Punch Turn,” the kite will do a 90-degree or better turn. With practice, you can do very tight corners. Practice push turns while flying squares. Here is a collection of figures that use “push/punch turns”.

See how tight you can do these figures. With all of the figures, you can change the size, entry, and exit points. Feel free to invent your own. Put the figures together and make a mini routine. Music and kite flying seem to go together. Try flying with the music.

Better Landing

If you happen to see a more experienced flyer fly, you will notice that they will land their kite on the wing tips. This has many advantages over the basic landing shown earlier. When the kite is landed on its wing tips, you can take it off again without walking. And it looks much more impressive. It is a lot easier to do than it looks. These instructions are written for a landing on the right side of the window; use the opposite hand to land on the left side. Fly your kite like you’re going to land it, as in the basic landing. When the kite gets about 2 feet off the ground, push your right hand forward to make the kite turn up. When the kite is pointing up, immediately push your left hand forward to stop the kite. Now, walk toward the kite and it will set down on the wing tips. This will take some practice. With experience, you will be able to land the kite near the center of the wind window.

Speed Control

\You will also find that as your kite heads toward the ground, it will speed up, and as it goes up, it will slow down. This is particularly noticeable in a square. You can avoid this by taking a step forward as the kite is going down and taking a step back when the kite goes up. Learning to move around early when you start flying will make it easy to fly with someone else when you want. You can get finer control over the speed of the kite by just moving your hands. You will find that during a low ground pass, you will want to slowly slide your hands forward until you reach the center of the window and pull them back as you approach the edge.

Trick Flying

\section{}Here is a collection of tricks you can do with your stunt kite. Some of these are easy, and some are hard. Some of these tricks take place near the ground; this is called ground work. Practice these in light wind first. Be prepared to break rods ( you may wish to purchase spars from your local kite dealer before you start). With many of these moves, if you mess them u,p you will tangle your kite in the lines. Do not attempt to fly the kite with the lines wrapped around the frame; this will break the rod. Our warranty does not cover you if you damage your kite learning ground work, but we will do our best to replace or fix what is broken.

Spin Landing

This is a very impressive move. Start practicing this move high up so that you don’t damage the kite (around 10 feet).

1. Pull turn the kite so that it is moving towards the ground.
2. Push the pulled hand to turn the kite upright.
3. Push the other hand to stop the kite from turning.
4. Maybe take a few steps forward.

A slow-turning kite like the Tracker makes this really easy. After a while, the pull down could be very slight, almost unnoticeable. This is also great for tip stabs and stalls in high wind. The downturn keeps the kite from rising really quickly out of a stall.

Leading Edge Launch

Remember before, when we told you during the basic landing that you could launch the kite from that position. Here is how.

The leading edge launch is best learned with the kite positioned about 30 feet in from the edge of the wind window. Point the nose of the kite into the wind. The objective will be to first get the kite to start sliding into the wind. Once it has started to slide into the wind, you’re home free. With the kite lying on its leading edge pointing into the wind, gently pull on the line attached to the wing that is up. Continue gently pulling until the kite leans toward you about 30 degrees. Maintain this hand position and start slowly backing up. The kite should start to slide into the wind. When it does, then start backing up briskly. The kite should start to lift off the ground, at which time you should start steering as usual. What might happen is the kite will just flip over to the other leading edge on the ground. To keep this from happening, you will need to put a little more tension on the line attached to the leading edge, which is on the ground. Normally, the kite can be made to flip back and forth, switching the leading edge in contact with the ground by just a firm tug on the wing that is up while the other line is completely slack.

Cartwheel

On very wide and squat kites, like the Ensemble (or on deep-sailed kites), you may find it hard to leading edge launch or do the sleeping beauty launch (listed later). But you will find that these kites will flip over very easily. With the kite lying on the ground, nose toward you on its back. Quickly pull on one line and release the other. The kite should pivot on its nose and spin around. Watch so that the lines do not get tangled. The kite will roll over and come to rest on its wing tips.

Spin

You may already have discovered this move on your own. If you pull real hard or far back, your kite will go into a tight spin. Be careful with this move, kites like the Free Spirit II will spin very fast and can be very difficult to control. The major problem with a spin is getting out of it. You need to watch the kite very carefully so that when you put your hands back together, the kite is pointing in a direction that is not down. As you keep the kite in a spin, it will start to drift downward.

Tip Drag

This move requires very good control. I would recommend practicing this move over sand or at the beach. If you mess up, you will nose the kite right into the ground. A Tip Drag is basically just dragging the wing tip along the ground while moving from one side of the window to the other. The trick is to keep just enough tension on the upper line so the kite does not nose over. This move is hard on the nocks.

Tip Stand

A Tip Stand is the raising of the kite from a launch position to a balance on one of the wing tips. Tip Stands require a delicate control over the tension in the fly-lines. The ground surface should provide some friction. i.e. soft sand or grass. Pull gently on the wing you wish to raise and control the amount that the other wing lifts off the ground by controlling the amount of tension in that line. Your first attempts should be about 50 feet in from one of the edges of the wind window and tilting the nose into the wind. After you get the kite up see how long you can hold it there. Most kites will balance at a 50 to 70 degree angle.

Wing Stab

This move is sometimes also called a Tip Stand. While doing a low ground pass from one side of the window to the other, push the up wing (more of a flick), and almost immediately take a step forward. This should stop the kite in its tracks. With the nose pointing toward the edge of the window. Take a few more steps forward, and the wing tip closest to the ground will touch the ground. You can then see how long you can keep it there. It requires very good control of the tension. Practice this move at the very edge, in a smooth, steady wind. Gradually move toward the center. After the kite is standing on its wing tip, slack the top line and as soon as the kite starts to drop, pull on both lines to take the kite back off. Or let the kite settle down on both wingtips.

Pogo Hop

This is a Low Wind Stunt. Fly the kite on a low ground pass. Execute a series of “Tip Stands” that immediately bounce back into the ground pass. The appearance is that the kite is hopping along the ground on one tip. The flexibility of the leading-edge spar accentuates the appearance.

Snap Stall

The snap stall is the basis for a lot of the more advanced or radical moves. There are several methods for stalling a kite. You may find it easier to set the bridles lower when you learn this move. When you stall a kite, you are destroying the smooth air flow across the back of the sail. The kite is now only being lifted by the wind that is hitting the front of the sail. When you pull the lines, you restore the air flow, and the kite now has lift.

1. The easiest one is a one-handed pull, and then push to stall. Fly your kite horizontally to the left side of the wind window. When you get to the edge, pull with your right hand to turn the kite up, and immediately snap a push with the same hand to stall the kite. It’s a smooth looking maneuver that is limited to edge work, and low wind conditions.
2. To stall the kite in the center of the window, where the wind is strong, some use a pull-pull snap stall. Fly your kite straight down in the center of the wind window. Just before it is about to hit the ground, snap pull with your right hand to turn the kite up, and then immediately snap pull with your left hand so that it is even with your right hand to stall the kite. The motion is quite forceful. It looks like the kite is being jerked into position, rather than turned and then stalled into position.
3. Fly your kite straight down in the center of the window. To turn your kite up, snap your left hand forward and your right hand back. The left hand is the push that turns the kite over and travels roughly twice the distance that the right hand does. To stall the kite, snap both hands back together; this time, the left hand is pulling, and the right hand is pushing. High hand speed is critical. The motion, when done correctly, is quite compact and causes the kite to look like it is being slammed to a halt. This technique works well in high wind.

The first technique is a finesse stall. The last two are power moves. It might be good to mention that the pull-pull, and the push-pull stalls are done in stronger winds, and because they are also executed with a great deal more vigor, snapping the leading edge, especially where the edge is joined by the lower spreader, is not unheard of so it might be wise to use a kite with a sturdy frame while learning these maneuvers.

Holding A Stall

After you stall your kite, you may find it hard to hold it stalled. Or you may find that it does not stay nose pointed up. Here is some advice to help you learn to work with a stalled kite. First, when you stall a kite, the controls will sort of reverse. To raise a dropping wingtip, gently pull on the side that is dropping. This is counterintuitive since you pull on the opposite line than you would to turn the kite up. To help maintain a stall, you need to keep tension off the lines. Walk slowly toward the kite to do this. If the kite starts to drop, then apply a very small amount of tension to the lines to bring it back up. You can also shake one or both hands; this works to keep the air behind the kite from flowing smoothly over the back and accelerating the kite.

Side Slide

The kite is snapped or spin stalled to a nose-up position while moving across the window parallel to the ground, causing it to slide nose up across the window. You will want to set your bridles heavy to learn this maneuver. This one is also best practiced in light winds. First, take the kite out to the edge of the wind window. Make a downturn, and as the nose comes around to point almost straight up, push the pulling hand back to stop the turn. Walk toward the kite enough to keep it from climbing, also walk downwind parallel to the sliding direction of the kite. The key is to watch the kite closely while monitoring the small amount of tension in the fly-lines with the index finger on the fly-line or bridle of the handle. Make ever so slight adjustments by applying pressure with the appropriate hand to keep the kite pointing straight up. By adjusting the amount of tension in the fly-lines and by walking in the proper direction, one can actually get the kite to slide into the wind.

Spike Landing

This move can be very hard on the frame if you get the timing off. Practice it in very light wind until you get it right ALL the time. An exaggerated snap stall from a power dive, causing both wing tips to hit the ground at the same time. Power dive the kite in the center of the window. Push the dive to slow the kite down and add to the suspense. When the kite is just a few feet off the ground. Pull very hard on one line to spin the kite up as soon as the kites nose is pointing up, push both hands forward and take some steps. If you time it right, the kite will spin once and drop right onto the ground on both wing tips. If you miss your timing, you may have to fix your kite.

Turtle

Sometimes called a feather. Note: learning this move will tangle your lines, so be prepared to walk to untangle things. Fly your kite up high, and then snap both hands forward until the kite lies back on its back while floating. You may want to start with your hands at your knees and throw your hands over your head. To untangle the kite. Just wait, and as it drifts down, it will slowly pitch back forward. It will suddenly halt out of the fall, and then take off in normal flight. A difficult variation is to tweak one line to get a little spin on it as it falls. Just try to keep your lines from getting wing wrapped and the kite will eventually pop out of this twisting free fall and back into flight.

Sleeping Beauty Launch

This move looks very impressive, when done correctly, the kite will spin around and almost fall flat on it’s belly nose toward you (this is the failure mode if it does not work). And just at the last second, turn up and take off. It works best in a good wind and with a flat-sailed kite like the Free Spirit II. Deeper billowed kites like the Ensemble are better cartwheeled. From a kite flat on its back. Position the kite about 30 feet in from the right edge of the wind window, on its back with the nose pointing into the wind. (Much like a turtle on its back) Next, pull on the left line, causing the kite to rotate the left tip into the wind. (The kite should stay flat on the ground.) As the kite rotates around, the wind will go under the left leading edge and flip the kite over onto its face. (bridle side down) The trick is to pull on the right line as the left tip is passing through 12 o’clock high. It is important that the wind be the force that raised the left leading edge off the ground and not the fact that you are pulling on the left line. When done properly, the wind will catch under the face of the kite before it gets to the ground and lift it into the sky.

Belly Launch

This is an even more impressive move than the Sleeping Beauty Launch. It also works better with deeper-sailed kites. With the kite on its belly, nose away from you (i.e. from a pancake maneuver. Offset your hands, pulling back more on the downwind hand. Then step or run backwards without changing the position of your hands. As the kite picks up and starts to turn around, pull your hands together and the kite will take off.

Axel

The Axel is the basis for many more advanced moves, which are beyond the scope of this guide. This move is also a good way to turn a kite in almost no wind. This move is very hard to learn and requires a lot of practice. Start on those light wind days. In order to do this move, you need tobe able to initiate and hold a stall if or at least 5-10 seconds. The reason for this is that the entire move is performed IN the stall. If the kite is out of “stall mode” at any time during the move, it doesn’t work. Once started, do not let any tension into the lines, or the kite will start to fly. This is a completely counterintuitive move, in that you are pulling with your left hand to get the kite to spin to the right. If done correctly, the kite seems to do a sort of sideways somersault and flip to the right. This is a very frustrating move to learn; failing to complete the move will result in a tangled mess.

1. Stall your kite. On the left-hand side of the wind window. As your skill level with the axel improves, you will be able to do the move any wherein the wind window.
2. While in the stall, push out with your left hand, until the kite is pointed at 1 o’clock, while your right hand stays PERFECTLY STATIONARY. You may find it easier when learning to push your right hand forward just a bit during the axel.
3. “Pop” your left line by quickly pulling your left hand and then break, PUTTING IT BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION (i.e., pushed out). While doing this, KEEP THE KITE STALLED–RUN TOWARDS THE KITE IF YOU NEED TO, DON’T PULL ON THE LINES.

The “popping” action of the left hand will provide the momentum to spin the kite around. Last, steady the kite–the move looks the best when it starts and ends in the same place. Any tension on the lines during the spin will immediately stop the spin. Also, you can sometimes get more than one spin out of a given pop.

Pancake

This is a light wind move. Fly the kite down the center of the window. And walk or run toward the kite. Also, during the fall, move your hands behind your back. When the kite gets to be about 10 feet above the ground or less, quickly throw your hands forward. This will cause the kite to stop and the nose to move away from you. The kite will end up floating belly down, nose away from you. To recover, either let the kite settle down on the ground and belly launch it. Or gently pop one of the lines, and the kite will spin around. When the nose is pointed toward you, pull both lines.

Flat Spin

Start with a pancake, once you have the kite in a pancake. Pop one of the lines, and the kite will start to spin. Immediately after you pop the line,push your hands forward to keep all tension off the lines. You can spin the kite several times this way with one pop. Pulling on the lines will stop the spin and start the kite flying again.

Light Wind Flying

Basics

Flying in light wind requires practice. Most of this section applies to flying in little to no wind. First of all, switch to the lightest line you have. You can also shorten your line (< 50′ is not uncommon), which will improve response. You may also want to switch to finger straps for better control. Light to no wind flying can be some of the most frustrating and also some of the most rewarding flying. As the wind gets light, most of the stunts in the last section become easy. Flying in light wind is also good exercise. If you are running around to keep your kite in the ai,r though, it is time to pack it in and go home. First, move the bridles forward, this will increase forward speed. Secondly, when you make turns, use very light, controlled movements. Remember a kite in flight has momentum and lift; therefore, plan your moves ahead. You should be able to hold a stall before you fly in winds under 2mph (even with a good ultralight). But also remember that crashes in light winds aren’t usually damaging, since there is not much speed. Unlike some stunt kites, Sky Vision Kites are not designed to be flown without the upper spreader. Removing the upper spreader will shift the balance point and weaken the leading edges. Our ultra-lights have been designed to fly in the least amount of wind, fully assembled. With light wind flying, you have to remember that the kite has energy saved in speed or altitude. You must remember to balance your speed with the altitude. Do not pull the kite hard, this tends to accelerate the kite real fast and the kite tends to stop when you stop pulling. Strong, gentle movements work best in light winds. Also, remember to keep moving.

Pumping

One way to gain speed without running backwards is to “pump” the kite. This is a sharp tug followed by a slower relaxing of the arms. Don’t overdo it, you can accelerate the kite too much, and it will stall when you stop. You can also use pumping to get you out of a sticky situation in higher winds (like getting stuck in the edge).

Fly Away

This move is used to gain ground in low wind, and fly the kite to the top of the window. Turn your nose down and walk or run forward. Kite will “glide” down. To establish a “Fly Away” from a downward path:

1. Position both hands as far back as possible during the first part of the dive.
2. When ready to establish the “Fly Away”, carefully cast both hands forward and walk or run toward the kite. Be careful not to over slack the lines to where the kite flips into a “Turtle”.
3. While in the “Fly Away”, carefully give a slight, short tug on one of the lines to start the kite rotating. Watch the tow point of the other line. When it has passed behind the tow point of the line which was tugged, give a light tug on it to continue the “Flat Spin”. Next, watch the tow point of the first line that was tugged. When it passes behind the second tow point, give a light tug on it to continue the rotation back to the nose away position. When the nose is again pointing away from you, re-establish the “Fly Away”.
4. See how many “Flat Spins” you can do during one “Fly Away.” For those of you who cannot quite visualize what’s happening, the kite is face (bridle side) down and nose pointing away from you during the “Fly Away”. The rotation of the “Flat Spin” should resemble one rotation of a “Frisbee”.

360

In very light winds with short lines, it is possible to fly a 360 degree ground pass. Start a ground pass and as you approach the edge of the window start to walk or run backwards. Remember, when the kite is directly downwind, you will have to be moving backwards at the speed of the wind plus the minimum wind speed of the kite.

Over The Top

This is pretty easy, but it needs short lines. You will also need very little wind to no wind to do this maneuver. Pump and run to get the kite directly overhead. Give a few quick pumps to accelerate the kite over your head. Fly the kite down to near the ground. Just before hitting the ground turn and complete a ground pass (360) back into your wind window. Remember to bring plenty of water or other liquid refreshment when practicing these, since they are very physical.

Other Ways to Fly

High Wind Flying

When the wind gets high, 18mph and above, flying becomes physical. To help with the increased pull, you can switch to a smaller kite, use a vented kite, or add an air brake. An air brake is a piece of mesh that fits between the bridle lines and acts to slow the kite down. With an air brake on, you can set the bridles forward to recover the lost forward speed, and also reduce the pull. The downside of an air brake is that it changes the way the kite flies.

Pairs Flying

Pairs Flying is when you and a friend get together to go kite flying, you both have a kite, rather than taking turns flying, and both kites fly together. This can be lots of fun. Start by just flying in the same airspace, and get used to having another kite around. When you can fly in the same airspace without running into each other, start to play follow the leader. Take turns being the leader. Start with doing a simple figure 8. You can wrap the fly-lines around each other a few times without cutting them (make sure you have the same type of line). Here are a few hints to make it easier to learn; otherwise, go out and have fun:

• Stand about 3-4 feet apart, leader on the left.
• Use line lengths that are different by about 5′ (leader on longer lines).
• Make sure your lines are of the same type and weight. Spectra is preferred since it offers the best control and does not cut itself.
• It helps if you have the same kite, but it isn’t required.
• When you wrap kite lines, try to keep the kites together; otherwise, you may cut the lines.
• When one kite crashes while wrapped, land the second one and untangle the lines before continuing to fly.

After you have gotten good at flying together, put together a mini routine. You can use mirrored moves and flying next to each other to add variety to your routine.

Stacking

Sometimes you want more pull or just want to impress people. Stacking is a fun way to do this. You will need two or more of the same kite; it looks better with the same or complementary color patterns but it is not necessary. You will need 5 lines of the same length. Tie loops with overhand knots at both ends. Next, you will need 5 loops of the same length. Tie each loop with a Lark’s Head onto each spreader connector and at the Tee of the front kite. Lark’s Head, the long lines to each spreader connector and the Tee of the back kite. Now take the other loop ends of the long lines and Lark’s Head them to the loops on the front kite. You will want the total distance between the two kites to be about 3/4 of the leading edge length.

You will need to play with the lengths a little bit to get the kites to lock. A properly tuned stack of kites should be able to perform any maneuver a non-stacked kite can. You will generally want more wind to fly a stack in. If you wish to stack 2 or more full-sized kites, you will need to purchase heavier line and a set of Dead-man quick-release handles (for 3 or more).

Please contact us if you would like a set of stacking lines for any of our kites. We can provide them to you at a nominal cost.

Other Information

Knots

Since the pictures of how to form the knots aren’t that great. Here are some words to help.

Over Hand

1. Form the line into a loop.
2. Loop the loop over.
3. Pass the loop through the loop and pull tight.

Lark’s Head

1. Form the line into a loop.
2. Form two loops with the end.
3. Fold the loops together and pass the line to be connected through both loops.
4. Pull tight.

Field Kit

Here is a list of some stuff you may want to take with you when you go flying. You do not need to have everything on the list. It is some of the stuff we take with us when we go out.

• Water or other liquid, flying stunt kites is physical work, don’t dehydrate yourself.
• Sunglasses, since the wind always seems to blow in the direction of the sun.
• Pair of scissors for cutting line.\b Lighter or matches for heat sealing line.
• Some Super Glue (Zap-A-Gap works well), for fixing broken parts.
• A hobby knife for fixing things.
• Sleeving needle to fix broken lines.
• Extra kite anchors (screw drivers work well), since we seem to lose them all the time.
• Extra rods.
• Ripstop repair tape for fixing holes in the sail.

Kite Care

Avoid flying your kite during the rain (never when there is a threat of a thunderstorm). Water will stretch the sail, and the kite will lose some of its performance. If your kite does get wet, do not store it in its bag until it is fully dry. If you fly your kite at the beach, then I recommend that you clean the sail as soon as you are home. Salt water can damage the sail.

Do not leave your kite set up for extended periods of time when you are not flying, as this will stretch the sail.

Do not fly your kite over its rated wind range; this will stretch the sail. If the kite is an ultralight, the frame may snap.

Take your time when making repairs or setting up a kite; there is nothing more annoying than damaging a kite in your hands.

Cleaning

If your kite should get dirty, clean it with warm water only (you may use a mild dish soap for stubborn stains). Wipe the kite with a damp paper towel or cloth and let the sail dry before placing it back in the bag.